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At least Kaia had managed to make something good come from her nightmares. Alex had to admit that, even while she shivered any time she happened to look at the artwork hanging on the walls and studding the floor. She’d come to the opening to support her friend, but the idea of looking at the art one second longer than she absolutely had to made her regret that. The art was great, it was just… the theme of the show was dopplegangers, and every piece had a perfectly normal person confronted with a dark, twisted version of themselves. Alex was going to have nightmares about it. From the talk she was hearing, she wasn’t the only one.
A much more welcome sight greeted Alex when she went around the corner. There was only one person who would wear flannel to an art show. She was a little surprised Jody let her get away with it, but only a little. Claire could be stubborn, and there’s no way Kaia would mind.
Claire turned around. “Hey. Why are you staring at me?”
“Because if I’m staring at you, I don’t have to look at any of the art. It may not bother you, but I’d rather look at real horrors than this stuff.” The look on Claire’s face made her realize what she just said, far too late to take it back. The only thing to do was to double down. “I mean, flannel? It is July! You’ve gotta be some kind of freak.”
“Ugh, at least I’m not spending my birthday in uncomfortable clothes.” Claire stuck her tongue out at Alex. “I know what you meant, you twit. Blood and guts and broken bones and stuff, right? All that shit you see working in an emergency room. You never were good at the fucked-up psychological shit, but even the grossest real injuries never bugged you.”
“Yeah. Exactly.” Alex shrugged. “But hey, happy birthday, when’s the wedding?”
“What wedding? You know Kaia and I broke up for good reasons, that are still true even if we’re friends again, right?” Alex knew. She’d thought it would work, but it turned out that Claire’s brand of crazy and Kaia’s both got worse when you tried to mix them. Fortunately, they’d figured that out before it was too late.
“Which means you’re single,” Alex teased. “And now you’re thirty, and I turned thirty a couple months ago and haven’t dated anyone for almost nine months, had a serious relationship for three years. All through high school we said that if we were single and thirty we’d marry each other so we don’t have to get old alone. Remember?”
Claire stared at her, and Alex waited for her to roll her eyes or burst into laughter or do something to indicate that she got the joke. She kept not doing anything long enough that Alex was considering shaking her to reset the brain. Finally, Claire said, “If you don’t want a fancy ceremony, I know you’re off next Tuesday. If you do, we’ll have to find a good time to plan your vacation. Not summer, that’s when my classes get super full, but maybe October? Do a Halloween-themed wedding?”
“Sounds like you’re the one who wants the fancy ceremony, having an idea so quickly.” Alex could play along, sure, why not? “As long as you keep it to blood and, like, werewolves or ghosts or whatever, I’ve got no problem with a Halloween wedding. None of this messed up psychological stuff. Plenty of time to put in a request for a couple weeks off from work, too, so we can take a honeymoon somewhere.”
Claire grinned and hugged Alex. Her face turned serious when she pulled back. “Okay, I know you were joking, but seriously. We should do it.”
Alex would never have expected to hear that. “You’re not declaring some long-hidden crush, are you?”
“Oh god no. It’s just…” Claire shrugged and shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “You’ve had crap luck with dating. Any time I try to date since Kaia, it goes badly. It would be really nice to have a partner at home, to know that if I need someone you’re there. We know we can live together and don’t make each other crazier, and wouldn’t it be nice to not have to call each other to come take care of us when we’re sick? And with your lease ending soon and you were wanting to move anyway…”
“We don’t have to get married to be roommates, Claire,” Alex said. “You could just ask like a normal person.”
“But if we get married, I can get on your health insurance,” Claire said with a smirk. “Save a buttload of money on my crappy version. I know you want kids, and if you’re married, the adoption agencies and artificial insemination people give you a lot less crap about it. Really, even paying for a wedding, it just makes good financial sense.”
Alex tried to find a hole to poke in the reasoning, but couldn’t. Claire’s point about their dating history made sense too – they could keep trying and failing for years, or they could give up, say to heck with it, and marry their best friend instead. “Okay, serious and awkward question: what about sex? Because I know you’d be cranky and regret everything if you aren’t getting laid.”
“Well, if I’m too much like a sister for you to be interested in me, then we can have an open marriage. Go out and hook up when we need to scratch the itch, but always come home to each other. We’d have to talk about more than hookups, friends with benefits, but that might be an option. If you’re willing to give me a shot, that’d be even better. I’m not gonna make things weird for you if you don’t, but I’m totally willing to go there with you. If you want to.”
Alex took a minute to think about it. “Not something I can answer right away,” she decided. “But if I decide I can’t do it with you, then I wouldn’t have a problem with hookups or friend with benefits. So one final question…”
“Uh-oh. That sounds dangerous.”
“Oh hush. I’m just asking, who gets to claim Jody as mother of the bride?” Alex burst into giggles along with Claire. “You’ve been thinking about this for a while. You didn’t just remember that deal today when I reminded you.”
“I have. After Emma turned out to be psycho, I kinda realized that I have a type, and it’s not a good one. You and me, we work together. If you’d rather hold out hope for some romantic fairy tale sweep you off your feet thing, I don’t blame you, but I’m pretty sure I’m never gonna get that. This is something that’s both good for me and something I want. Can’t imagine anything else being both of those, you know?”
Alex nodded. She did know. “Fair enough, then. Happy birthday, sorry I don’t have a ring, will you marry me?”
"Sure." Claire stuck out her tongue at Alex. "I even promise not to wear flannel to the wedding."